What Sales Terms and Conditions do I need for my Online Florist?

When setting up your online floristry business, one of the most important legal documents you should include on your website is your online Sales Terms and Conditions. Online flower sales can be a great revenue stream, but it can also be fraught with issues including confusion about delivery, prices and returns. You may also use third party suppliers to provide other services to your customers such as hampers or teddy bears for Valentine’s Day and these should also be addressed in your Sales Terms and Conditions.

Delivery

Your Sales Terms and Conditions should cover a delivery clause which states how payments must be made including whether delivery is included or excluded from the price. You should also set out your delivery areas and where you will and will not deliver to.

You should set out the order times required for special holidays, for example Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. You should also add a disclaimer that there may be delays during these busy periods. You should include in your Terms that there may be additional costs during busy/popular periods and that you may have to substitute or alter orders as required.

You should set out that in relation to delivery that it is the customer’s responsibility to provide the correct address details and contact details. You are not responsible if a product is incorrectly delivered because the customer provided the wrong information. You may charge another delivery fee to the customer if the order needs to be re-delivered.

If you use third party suppliers then you should address them in your Sales Terms and Conditions and state that you cannot guarantee their delivery times and are not responsible for any delays that they cause.

Returns and Refunds

You should also set out the returns and refund policy for flowers and hampers on your website in accordance with Australian Consumer Law. Your Sales Terms and Conditions should set out how and when cancellation is allowed and if fees can be refunded when orders are cancelled. You should set out that you may require photographic proof of an issue with the flowers and if required, the damaged hamper to be sent back to you or the third party supplier to be inspected.

Legal Obligations

As a florist, it is possible that you may also be selling wine or other alcoholic drinks with your flowers particularly on special holidays. Your Sales Terms and Conditions should set out the requirements for your state or territory in relation to the sale of alcohol and that anyone purchasing through the website agrees that they are 18 years old or older and are legally able to buy alcohol.

You should set out that you will endeavour to have the website up to date and that you can only provide products subject to the availability of the flowers and third party items and that they may be substituted with similar items where required. You can also look at downloading our Website Privacy Policy to explain to your website visitors how you use collected information.

It is likely that you will have promotion codes, discount vouchers and gift cards which can be used on your website. This should be addressed in your Sales Terms and Conditions and you should set out any limitations in relation to using these payment methods.

Conclusion

If you would like us to draft your Sales Terms and Conditions for your floristry business or if you require more information about Australian Consumer Law contact LegalVision on 1300 544 755 and speak with one of our experienced contract lawyers today.

Edith is a lawyer at LegalVision. She currently practises in the Employment Law team which includes drafting business terms and conditions, employment and contractors agreements and providing advice on employment matters. In her past work experience, Edith worked for some of Australia's leading visual art and design organisations.

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